The playoffs are halfway over, and only 4 teams remain, but there are plenty of players that have stood out at this point in the playoffs. These are the players that are most likely to win the Finals MVP award should their team win the title this year, with their playoff averages listed after their name.
Playoff Most Valuable Player
1. LeBron James - MIA - 29.0 pts, 8.7 reb, 5.9 ast, 2.5 stl, .493 FG%, .769 FT%
The regular season MVP has played even better in the playoffs, with the highlight coming in a must-win game 4 against Indiana, when the Heat were in danger of going down 3-1 in the series. LeBron was huge that night, finishing with 40 points, 18 rebounds, and 9 assists as Miami turned the series around and got themselves back on track for a return trip to the NBA Finals.
2. Kevin Durant - OKC - 26.7 pts, 8.1 reb, 3.4 ast, 1.1 blk, 1.3 stl, .488 FG%, .367 3P%, .836 FT%
Durant's scoring is a little bit down from the regular season, when he won his third straight scoring title, but he hasn't had to carry as big a load because of help from his teammates and somewhat weak competition so far. He'll have to turn it up in the next round if he wants to get past the Spurs, but if OKC advances to the title, Durant could become the new favorite to grab a Finals MVP.
3. Rajon Rondo - BOS - 15.3 pts, 6.7 reb, 12.3 ast, 2.7 stl, .455 FG%, .692 FT%
Rajon Rondo has become the leader of a team that includes 3 future Hall-of-Famers, and he showed it last night in game 7 against Philadelphia, when he scored 7 straight points to put the game out of reach and put the Celtics into the Conference Finals for the third time in five seasons. Even more impressive is the fact that he has now recorded 3 triple-doubles in this year's playoffs, and last night he became the second Celtic ever to record one in game 7, joining Larry Bird.
4. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 24.1 pts, 4.7 reb, 4.4 ast, 1.9 stl, .472 FG%, .815 FT%
Westbrook has been one Thunder player that has stepped up big in the playoffs, with his 37-point performance in game 4 against the Lakers a prime example. They needed every point he scored, since they won by only 3 points, and a loss would have left the series tied and guaranteed a return trip to Los Angeles, which they were happy to avoid.
5. Dwyane Wade - MIA - 23.8 pts, 4.5 reb, 3.6 ast, 1.3 blk, 2.0 stl, .486 FG%, .663 FT%
He may have put up a clunker in game 3 against the Pacers, scoring only 5 points on 2-13 shooting in 37 minutes, but he made up for it in a big way a week later in the deciding game 6, when he poured in 41 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading the Miami Heat back to the Eastern Conference Finals yet again, and keeping the argument open about which of the superstar teammates is the better player.
6. Tim Duncan - SAS - 17.6 pts, 9.0 reb, 2.9 ast, 1.9 blk, 1.0 stl, .540 FG%, .792 FT%
Maybe it's the extra rest he's gotten from sweeping through the first 2 rounds of the playoffs, but Tim Duncan has looked like the Tim Duncan of old rather than old Tim Duncan so far in the playoffs. Even when he had to play on consecutive nights because of scheduling issues at the Staples Center, Duncan put up 21 points to go along with 9 rebounds and 3 blocks as San Antonio closed out the Clippers and won their 18th straight game.
7. Kevin Garnett - BOS - 19.2 pts, 10.8 reb, 1.6 ast, 1.5 blk, 1.4 stl, .505 FG%, .811 FT%
Not sure what's going on with the old guys in this year's playoffs, but they look younger than ever, despite the compacted schedule that was supposed to wear them out. Garnett has recorded 9 double-doubles in 13 playoff games so far, which is the same number he recorded in the final 7 weeks of the regular season, which covered 31 games.
8. Paul Pierce - BOS - 19.3 pts, 6.9 reb, 3.5 ast, 1.0 blk, 1.5 stl, .417 FG%, .347 3P%, .913 FT%
Pierce has not been shooting particularly well from the field so far in the playoffs, but he has been automatic from the line, currently riding a streak of 30 straight free throws made that stretches clear back to game 3 against Philadelphia, and that can be a very important quality for your star player to have in close playoff games. Pierce is also hitting the boards harder in the playoffs, grabbing 1.7 more per game than he did in the regular season.
9. Tony Parker - SAS - 19.1 pts, 3.4 reb, 7.1 ast, 1.0 stl, .430 FG%, .810 FT%
Parker was definitely the Spurs' MVP during the regular season, but in the playoffs he's been kind of mediocre so far. He's getting the same numbers he did in the regular season, but he's shooting a lot more to get there. He shot only 36% in the Clippers series, including an abysmal 1-9 performance in game 1, but the Spurs have continued to win anyway.
10. James Harden - OKC - 17.0 pts, 5.0 reb, 3.1 ast, 2.0 stl, .419 FG%, .901 FT%
The Beard has been spectacular so far in the playoffs, showing everybody why he won the Sixth Man Award this season, and it never showed more than in game 4 against Dallas, when he scored 29 points as the Thunder finished off a sweep of the defending champions. 15 of those points came in the fourth quarter, as he led Oklahoma City back from a 13-point deficit to win by 6.
Playoff Predictions
In the second round I predicted all 4 series winners correctly, and I was within 1 game of getting all four of them exactly correct, making my total 10 of 12 correct so far with 9 of them within 1 game of my prediction.
Conference Finals
Spurs over Thunder in 5
Heat over Celtics in 5
NBA Finals
Spurs over Heat in 6
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